Prop Rochelle Clark to win 100th cap for England Women in Six Nations
Wednesday 18 March 2015 11:10, UK
Rochelle Clark will become England Women's joint most-capped player of all time on Saturday when she runs out against France at Twickenham.
The 33-year-old Worcester prop, who made her England debut against Canada in 2003, will join former England hooker Amy Garnett in the history books as she earns her 100th cap in the match against reigning Six Nations champions France.
England's acting head coach Nicola Ponsford said: "I would like to pay tribute to Rochelle. It is an absolutely fantastic milestone to achieve 100 caps, especially in such an attritional position as prop.
"Ever since she got her first cap back in 2003 she has always been 100 per cent committed to playing for England.
"She has an unrivalled passion and desire to set the standards for other players to follow. Her work ethic and work rate, particularly in defence is massive, and she has contributed to many of England's past successes, including our World Cup win in 2014.
"She is a world-class prop who has dominated a number of props over the years and I can see no reason why she won't continue to do so.
"Rochelle's ambition is to play at the next Rugby World Cup in 2017 and currently I can see no reason why she won't be there.”
England currently sit third in the Six Nations behind France, who lead the title chase, and Ireland who are second.
Ponsford has made just four changes for Saturday’s game, in which England would need to beat France by a hefty margin - combined with an Ireland defeat in Scotland - to take the trophy.
Bristol's Amber Reed comes in off the bench to start in the centre, while Abbie Scott and Hannah Gallagher also return to the starting line-up in the pack. Richmond's Alexandra Matthews moves to No 8 from flanker for this game.
The planets could be aligning for England's title hopes, though, after their strong 42-13 win over Scotland and France’s surprise loss to Italy.
"France will certainly be hurting from their defeat to Italy at the weekend,” Ponsford said.
“They will have learned some important lessons but what Italy have shown is that if you take the game to the opposition any team in this Six Nations is beatable.
“Our focus will be to concentrate on our performance on Saturday and making sure we finish our Six Nations campaign on a high.
“The changes we have made to the pack will help us deliver the physicality we need up front against France while the inclusion of Amber Reed at centre will give us more experience in the midfield. ”
